Why a Brand Kit is Essential for Small Businesses.

What is a brand kit?

Your logo is just the start of your brand kit. You should also consider what fonts are appropriate for your brand voice, the right brand colors that’ll align with your target audience, what kinds of icons will be used and what messages they’ll convey to your audience. It’s also important to consider the style of photography and video that will pair up with your messaging.

When all of these elements come together, you essentially have a set of guidelines that you and your colleagues will use to align on design elements, how you communicate with your customers, and the proper usage of all your brand elements.

This seems like a lot… is it actually necessary?

Absolutely. Considering that your logo will go just about everywhere your company shows up, it’s crucial to identify the right brand elements that’ll complement your logo. When each piece of your brand is built in separate ways, you risk all of them clashing with one another when you try to bring it all together.

Building your brand is a lot like baking a cake. We know the star of the show is the cake itself, but how good is the cake going to be without some additional things to brighten it up? We’ll want to consider the kind of filling that’ll go into the cake, what icing will go well with the added flavors, we might want to garnish it with a little bit of candy on top, and maybe even consider a good ice cream pairing to go with the cake.

Could you imagine if we got into the middle of finishing this cake and figured out “Oh shoot, we need to add a little something more…” and threw in whatever happened to be in the kitchen? It could potentially ruin the whole thing… and the same happens with company branding all the time.

What’s the specific purpose for each brand element?

Some elements are more obvious than others… but we can start with the most important elements.

• Logo: We know this serves as the centerpiece of your company’s visual identity. It’s typically the starting point in creating a strong brand. We take a look at what your market is, who your audience will be, and create a logo that perfectly captures that identity.
• Typography: This is the element that helps us create your brand personality. There’s plenty of fonts out there to choose from, and it all comes down to what tone of voice we want to have with your customers. Is your brand modern and professional? Or is your brand fun and playful? The right typeface will bring out that personality and support your logo.
• Color Palette: Using consistent colors in your logo, photography, icons, and other brand elements helps make your company more memorable. There’s also a surprising amount of psychology that goes into the colors used for particular brands.
  
  For example, did you know reds and yellows tend to evoke hunger? That’s why you see famous restaurants like McDonalds and Burger King use these types of colors. You may also notice a lot of technology companies use blues and blacks, which helps communicate that their brands are sleek and trustworthy. Blue is also a calming color for most people.
• Iconography: Icons are a great way to communicate a lot with very little. There’ll come times when you have to show what you mean instead of attempting to write what you mean. There are a lot of people who don’t necessarily like reading anymore, so your ability to be direct and concise through visuals are important.
• Photography and Video: These elements are at their best when you’re telling your brand story. It’s easy to convey emotion with them, and helps build a stronger connection with your customers when used correctly. Fun fact: customers usually react more fondly to imagery when other people are in them.
• Brand Guidlines: Once all the elements come together, there has to be a single source of truth for how all of them work together. The branding guide will help in maintaining consistency across your website, social media posts, and other marketing materials.

When all your branding elements work together, it creates a consistent, professional appearance that builds trust.

Regardless if it’s a post on social media or an outdoor billboard, it’s crucial to maintain a consistent tone and identity across all of your marketing materials. When all of your brand assets are aligned, it helps your customers recall your company quicker, it’s easier to adapt elements from one place to another, and it becomes much easier to build brand affinity over time.

It’s important to note that building brand recognition can take a bit of time. It’s very difficult to accomplish recognition through a logo by itself. A brand is a combination of how your customers feel when they do business with you, what they say about you to their friends and family, and the likelihood they’ll want to do business with you again. That’s why it’s important to build a solid foundation from the beginning so it’s easier to build customer loyalty over time.

Invest in your brand’s success today.

Do you have questions about your current branding and how you can improve it? Whether you’ve been working on it for a while or looking to get started, we have plenty of tools and resources to get the ball rolling. Don’t hesitate to check out how we can support you with your company branding. If you’re ready to get started, feel free to send us a message so we can get your free consultation set up.